IT author Stephen King has responded to the exclusion of the child orgy scene in the new movie adaptation of the classic novel.

The scene is one of the horror’s strangest and most disturbing moments. Following the show-down that sees them defeat the nightmare manifestation ‘It’, the children in the ‘Losers Club’ find themselves trapped in the sewer. The group’s only female character, Beverly, then invites and encourages the boys to have sex with her as the only means of escaping the sewer.

In 2013, King provided clarification for the scene in an internet forum. “The sexual act,” wrote King, “connected childhood and adulthood. It’s another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children’s library and the adult library.”

He then admitted, “Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.”

When Variety called to confirm the statement, King added, “it’s fascinating to me that there has been so much comment about that single sex scene and so little about the multiple child murders. That must mean something, but I’m not sure what.”